Attachment fob vault doobs



July 12, 1927.

R 16,675 N. 2. SMITH I ATTACHMENT FOR VAULT DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed April 17. 1922 f M 4 w 4%,.

5 R 0 0 D T m WA V m Z w E M H C A T T A July 12, 1927.

Ori inal Filed April 1'7. 1922 Reissued July 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NOBLE Z. SMITH OF CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO M. L. CANOTT AND T.

HALL, BOTH OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ATTACHMENT FOR VAULT DOORS.

Original No. 1,514,866, dated November 11, 1924, Serial No. 553,412,filed- April 17, 1922. Application for reissue filed November 8, 1926.Serial No. 147,163.

This invention pertains to an attachment for vault doors. 7 I

An object of my invention is to provide means by which the door of abank vault or other similar place may be prevented, on.

occasions, from being wholly closed and by which in the attempt to closesaid door will .be automatically locked or latched in its partiallyclosed position and make immovable from the outside.

Another object is to provide an attachment for the door of a bank vaulthaving for its purpose to aid in frustrating attempted banditry, and bywhich the operatives in place having a vault may be safe frommolestation after entering said vault, and yet may use the said vault asa vantage point from which, by the use of firearms, to deal withoutlawry and prevent loss of valuables.

Still another object is that of so arranging and organizing parts of thedoor of a vault that operatives of the institution in which the vaultmay be installed, whether having v taken refuge in said vault or havingbeen forced into it, may have control of the door preventing its beingwholly closed or of being swung open from the outside after an attemptto close it, to the end that from with in the vault such parts may beoperated to permit the door to be opened for giving such operatives anadvantage in the use of firearms, while admittingof quickly closing andlatching said door in an ajar position.

To the end that thestructure used and the purpose thereof may be morefully understood, have provided the accompanying drawings forming part.thereof, it being understood that I do not limit myself to the structureillustrated since various changes are possible while still within thescope of the invention and'the claims herein.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner side of a vault-door showing myinvention in.-

stalled thereon. i I

Figure 2 is a plan of the upper edge of a vault-door wit-h my inventionshown installed on a ledge thereof. i

Figure 3 1s a similar figure showing certain parts in differentpositions from those shown in Figure 2. I

Figure 4 is also a plan of the top edge of the door showing alteredpositions of parts illustratedv in Figure 2, and

an endwise HlOVBDlQllt Figure 5 shows, in perspective, part of the acter1,which constitute the door-j amb, while 2 is the vault-door, 3 being aledge at the top of the latter through which the usual locking bolts 4extend.

Lying in the angle formed by the door 2 and the ledge 3, Figure 5especially, is a bar 5 adapted to shift in the direction of its length.Said bar may be placed elsewhere on said ledge but the position shown isa convenient one since a natural guide is createdby these parts. As aconvenient manner, of retaining the bar in position while permitting thelongitudinal movement referred to, a block 6 isrseoured upon the ledge3, an extension thereof lying withina groove 7 in said bar.

One end of the latter extends beyond the hinged edge of the door andabuts upon the door-jamb, being there held elastically by suitable meanssuch, for example, as a spring 8 attached at one end of the door and atthe other to the said bar.

A slide- 9 is likewise placed in the-angle formed by the door 2 and theledge 3, the same adapted to project from orto be extended beyondtheopposite edge ofthe door.

.Said slide at its. other end lies against 'the bar ,5, forming a guidetherefor, there being blockslO and 11, for example, on the ledge whichenter grooves 12 in the slide serving to retain the latter in placewhilepermitting thereof to be explained.

13 is a recess in the slide into which the bar 5 is permitted to pass attimes, there being a trigger 13. within the recess pivoted to saidslide, its free end extending in the general direction of the said bar5. A spring 14. serves to hold the trigge'relastically in the path ofthe bar while a control member 15 admits of manually moving the same outof said pat-h, or from the position of said trigger in Figure 2 to thatshown in Figure 4, to-permit the bar to move behind it into said'recess.i

5 is a recess in the .bar 5 into which a pin 9' carried byand-slidably'Within the slide 9.is. adapted to enter, said recesshaving an inclinedinner wall surface for ejecting the in. p Pivotally mounted upon theledge 3 is a latch 16 which in the present instance is adapted to swingin a horizontal plane and may occupy one of two extreme positions, i. e.that shown by dotted lines in Figure 2 and as in Figure 3, but in usemoving between these two positions as will appear presently.

Said latch has a projecting heel portion 17 near its pivoted end withwhich an extension 18 of the slide Qisadapted to engage, whereby in thelongitudinal shifting move-- ment of the latter said latch will be swungupon its pivot.

Depending from the ceiling or other convenient part of the interior ofthe vault, is a stop or keeper19, Figures 1 and 3, with which said latchis adapted to cooperate whenthe door is moved'toward its closed positionunder circumstances now to be disclosed.

Normally, the parts lie in the positions shown in Figure2 whether thedoor-is standing ajar or. wide open, but when Wide open (not shown) thebar 5 will be extended from the door-edge still farther, due to the pullof the spring- 8 and will rest upon a cam 1 on the wall 1, which camwill serve to gradually move the barby forcing it lengthwise toward thetrigger.

lVhen andas thedoor is movedin an attempt to close it, eitherby thebandits to imprison persons driven-into the vault, or by persons who mayhave entered for safety, the bar-5 will be forced against and cause thetrigger 13 to be shifted with it together with the slide 9. The latterwill be thereby projected at its outer end beyondthe edge of the door tostrike the jamb as in Figure 3, preventing the door being closed. Asthis action occurs the latch 16 will have been swung from the dottedline positiomFigure 2 to thatshown in Figure 3 against the dependingstop or keeper 19.

Those from without are thus now unable to either tightly close the doordue to the projecting slide 9 which, of course, cannot be inwardlyshifted, nor can they open the door due to the fact that the latch 16will engage said bar or keeper 19 and prevent it. Neither can the doorhe opened sufficiently to permit the entrance of any instrument forreaching the said latch 16, nor could the latch be moved, even ifreached, to disengage it from the said keeper from the fact that.

the heel portion 17 lies against thenow i m movable slide 9 held by thebar 5 and trigger 13C However, a person within the vault when:

opportunity permits, may move the trigger away from bar 5 to permlt itto move past the latter, Figure 4, Whereupon the slide 9 may be shiftedby the latch, as that member is moved away from the keeper 19,sufliciently to permit the door to be opened.

As danger threatens, the latch is thrown against the keeper and-theslide mov-edoutwardly again to permit the trigger to again takeup itsposition behind the bar 5.

Thus it is seen that those from without are at the mercy of firearmsused by. those protectedw-ithin the vault. An advantage also in the useof my device is that persons cannot: be locked within a closed vault andthus be in danger of suffocation, as often results.

- lienalockingithe vault for the night the trigger=13' is withdrawn frombehind the bar 5,-as already explained, so that the latter; may passbehind it. Now by pushing th-epin 9 into the recess 5', as shown inFigure4, the bar is held behind the trigger in opposition to the pull ofthespring .8 preventing the saidtrigger being, released.

With the slide 9 withdrawn so that its end.

is inwardfrom the edge of the door the latter; may now be closed, thebar 5 beingv naturally and necessarily pushed farther behind the triggerduring which action the pin is forced outwardand out of'the recess 5 sothat when the door: is again opened for the days, business the'barcanmove from behindthe trigger, thedevice being automatically set ready foranemergency.

I am unaware of an attachment for a vault door:having the aim andpurpose outlined herein, and therefore having set forth a-type ofmechanism for accomplishing these aims, I claim:

1. The combination with themou'nted door of a vault and the door-jamb,of mechanism movablein and during the act of movingthe door to itsclosed position, the same adapted to, engage at one end a relativelyimmovable part during said actwhereby to carry the other end of saidmechanism between the door-j amb and an edgeof the door for preventingentirely closing the. latter.

2. The combination with thedoor and .a door-j amb of a vault, of mountedmechanism operated automatically in the act of moving the door to itsclosed position by contact with a relatively stationary portion forprojecting said mechanism between an edge of the door and said door-jamb, akeeper withing the vault, and a latch operatedautomatically by saidmechanism to engage said keeper.

3. The combination with the door and door-jamb of a vault, of mountedmechanism inward from the outer face of the door operated automaticallyin and due to movement of the latter to a partially closedpositionformoving a part of said mechanism between anuedge of the doorand the doorjamb, preventing said door beingentirely abutting againstthe I a second part with both parts closed, and means within the vaultto automatically latch the door and prevent its being opened from theoutside when moved to said partially'closed position.

4. The combination with the door and door-jamb of a vault, of mechanismcarried on the inner side of the door mounted to moveparallel to theplane thereof including a part adapted to engage the door-jamb at thehinged edge of the door and also including a part adapted to beprojected from the opposite edge of the door when and as the door ismoved toward its closed position, and means to automatically latch thedoor and prevent the movement'thereof from the outside to open it whenin a partially closed position. a

5. The combination with the door and door-jamb of a vault, of twoseparate parts mounted on the door capable of movement relatively toeach other and relative to said door, one of them normally andelastically jamb at the hinged edge of the door, the other to be adaptedto be projected beyond the other edge of said door to prevent entireclosing of the door, amember adapted for operative engagement wherebymovement of one will impart movement to the other, a latch operated byone of the parts in its move- 'ment, and a keeper within the vault withwhich the latch is adapted'to engage when the door is stopped by theprojecting part. 6. The combination with the door and door-jamb of avault, of mechanism mounted on the, door including a part adapted at oneend to abut against the j'amb, means to elastically hold the sameagainst said jamb, adapted for movement with first and a trigger pivotedon one of theparts adapted to operatively engage the other by whichthe'movement of one will impart movement to the other, the triggeradaptedto be moved to permit the parts to move relatively.

7. The combination with the door and doorjamb of a vault, of mechanismmounted on the door including a part adapted at one end to abutagainstthe jamb, means to elastically hold the same against said jamb, a secondpart adapted for movement with respect to the first, and a triggerpivoted on one of the parts adapted to operatively enrespect. to i thegage the other by which the movement of one will impart movement to theother, the trigger adapted to he moved to permit the arts to moverelatively, and'means to control the elastically held part with respectto said trigger.

8. The combination with the door of a' vault or other enclosure, ofmounted mechanism adapted to be operated by the door in the act ofmoving said door toward its closed position to automatically project apart of such mechanism into the path of the said door to stop the samein an ajar position, and means to automatically latch the door in thatposition to prevent its being opened from the outside.

The combination with the door of a vault, of mounted mechanism adaptedto be operated through the instrumentality of said door and including apart to be moved into the path of said door in an attempt to close thesame to stop it in an ajar position, said part adapted to be movedmanually relatively to the mechanism, and means to antomatically latchthe door after having been toward closed position for holding the door ain slightly ajar position and means for moving the latch frominoperative to operative position when the door is moved from opentoward closed position.

11. A locking device structure including the combination with a hingeddoor element and a door j amb element of a fixed member mounted on oneof said elements, a latch movably mounted on the other element, andmeans for holding the latch in inoperative positionincapable ofcooperating with the fixed member for performing a locking function,said parts being mounted to coact with each other whereby when the dooris given hinged movement, the latch is moved to position for cooperatingwith the fixed member, so that when the door is then moved towardclosed. position, the latching mechanism and keeper will engage forholding the door slightly ajar. r

12. The combination of a door amb member and a movable door member witha fixed element mounted on one of said members, with a movable elementmounted on the other of said members adapted to be moved to operative orinoperative position, said movable element being arranged when in voperative position to engage the fixed element when the door is movedfrom opening toward closed position for coacting therewith and' lookingthe door in ajar position, and adjustable means for holding the. movablememberin its inoperative position;

13. The combination of a door-jamb member and .a movable door memberwith a locking mechanism having a fixed element mounted on one of saidmembers, a movable catch element mounted on the other of said membersadapted When in operative position to engage With the fixed element Whenthe door :is moved toWard closed position for holding the door ajaragainst opening or closing and movable means adapted when adjusted toone position to eoaet With the catch element .to hold it in inoperativeposition, said mechanism being adapted to release said meanswhenthe'door is moved from closed to open position for rendering itinoperative andpermitting the movable catch element to move to operativeposition.

NOBLE Z. SMITH.

